Home
by raeru
Summary: Why is everything happening so suddenly? What happened to mediocrity? Sasuke third person singular narrative. SasuNaruSasu


**Disclaimer:** Don't own~.  
**Author's Note:** A big thanks to Kriss who read this over and edited it for me. He is great. And also thank's to Niki who encouraged me to write this.

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Poised with his straight back and sharp shoulders perfectly in line, he hovered flawlessly over the younger one's face. His eyebrows were knit tight, and his eyes were sharp as he analyzed the bruised face that was no more than a foot from his own. What was going on behind the closed eyes beneath him? Dreams, maybe? Perhaps it was nothing but the dark infinity that he himself often saw when his own were closed. Images appeared in his mind as he continued to stare, things he couldn't quiet remember, yet they weren't completely forgotten, either.

_There is no reason for me to remember my past_, he thought. Why should he? Pointless relationships with people he half cared about, and experiences that were, most of the time, unpleasant. So why did he feel uneasy as he continued to stare? What was this pain in his heart which made him wince inwardly? What was this feeling that wouldn't shake?

While his demeanor remained taut and still, he slowly lost any grip he had on his mentality. Against his will, his mind changed paces and it sifted through every memory he had collected throughout his lifetime. And while some were more worn than others, each memory held its own level of clarity as it splayed in colors across his vision.

He wondered momentarily if he was losing his sanity. Why, after all these years, were the memories he had forcefully forgotten resurfacing now? There was no reason for him to remember pointless things like memories. There were no cherished moments with loved ones. There were no extreme events of confessed hatred. There was nothing worth remembering, so _why_ was he remembering? Why were there endless sunny days and vast oceans flooding his mind? Why were there pictures of endless sunflower fields fogging up his vision?

And then the fields of yellow and crystal blue oceans slowed in his mind. Emotions flooded his body, emotions that he couldn't quitef pinpoint and wasn't even sure he had felt before. Had those oceans always been that shade of dark blue? Had those fields always been that flamboyant yellow? Why was it that his heart was racing and his body was losing its composure? Had they always affected him like this, and could he really forget such a... pleasurable feeling? And then, like staring at the sun, a simple word blinded his vision: "Bonds, huh?"

The first time the two met was on one of the few rainy days the town experienced. It was a loud and obnoxious meeting mostly due to a boy who spoke more than he thought. It was obvious the two contradicted each other in every way possible. Physical features were the most obvious of the comparisons. While the elder had pale skin which had porcelain-like attributes, along with black hair with a hue that almost seemed blue, the other had heavily tanned skin that glowed mercilessly, and bright blonde hair that could only be compared to the sun in the sky. However, their personalities clashed more than anything physical could.

The blonde was expressive and obnoxious, spoke his mind and never once thought beforehand. So it was hard to understand why—or how, rather—the quiet, reserved young man continued to work with him. People would often say it went against nature to work with a polar opposite, and that he should abandon his comrade before something, before strife, broke between the two. Thinking back now, he wished that he would have taken their advice. Maybe it would have prevented this situation completely.

He bitterly swallowed back the bile that had gathered at the back of his throat. He closed his eyes and thought back on the memories that had played in his head. Slight curiosity plagued his mind; if he could change how he lived his life, _would_ he? He wasn't sure, and wouldn't be able to decide as long as this unnamed feeling remained.

Working together was much easier for the two than they had expected. The moment they were thrown into a battle together, they had unknowingly honed a skill that no one had expected. Soon they had refined an art that was only shared between the two; the art of reading one another's body language. It was natural, second nature for them even, as they fought fluidly, creating new attacks on the spot.

His fingers began to slowly trace the small tributary-like marks that graced both cheeks of the other. Each movement of his fingers was somehow nostalgic, and yet so foreign. His abyss-like black eyes slowly slid closed and welcomed the scenery change. It was a still yellow abyss with an unexpectedly calm atmosphere. Slowly a smile appeared on his face, and he sighed; he really could get used to this feeling.

"S'ke." The field around him mumbled as the content feeling slowly changed to anxiety. He didn't want to face those eyes just yet. "S'ke?" it questioned as it began to move away from him. He panicked; he didn't want to face everything just yet. Then, the black orbs were once again glaring at the world as he watched the figure beneath him move to sitting position in front him. There were oceans staring at him, just like his memories, and yet, they weren't. These oceans were so much bluer.

"What?"

"Sasuke..." There was a breathy tone to the voice and his lips pressed into a smile. "Are you ready to come home, yet, Sasuke?" He was confused. He had no home, let alone one to _return_ to. He had chosen the life of a rogue ninja to obtain his honor, and the only place he could even consider home was owned by a man whom he disliked. A man who had given him a mission he was no longer sure he could complete.

"What home?" His tone was sharper than he had intended and much deeper than the last time he had opened his mouth.

"And I'm the usuratonkachi? You've always had a home in Konoha." His eyebrows knit together and he thought for a while. He was sure he had burnt down his so-called home that was nestled between the acres of Uchiha neighborhoods. The other's eyes rolled. "Home is where someone is thinking about you. Sakura-chan may have given up on her love but you're still kazoku(1) to her..."

His eyes narrowed at the thought of Sakura. Someone who had always been so superficial had given up on an obsession that lasted years? That was very hard for him to believe. "You know, she's getting married to Lee, soon." His eyebrows rose at the new information and he gave a questionable glance to the younger man. "I thought the same thing. Apparently while on a mission together, Lee nearly ended up killing himself to save her, and since then, they—"

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Confusion flooded the oceans, making it his turn to roll his eyes.

"_Baka_." He paused, an odd feeling mixed with the normalcy of the comment and it confused him. "Tell me about you."

"Teme!" the spiky-haired boy growled playfully before letting out a hearty chuckle. "I've been... okay." He ran his fingers along his sandals. "What about you? How have you been, Sasuke?"

He sat still for a moment. How had he been these past years? What was there to compare it to? Just moments ago, everything and anything in his life had been completely mediocre with not an ounce of anything else. But now... now there were these small highs and lows that had surfaced like waves in sandy dunes. "Ask me in a few days."

"Hai... wait, does that mean you're coming home, Sasuke?" He noticed the eyes brighten considerably, and the ears that adorned the sides of his head perked noticeably under the light locks of hair.

His eyes sharpened into a glare as he scoffed, "I told you, I have no home, let alone one to return to." He pondered momentarily whether the other's theory even counted on his part. Was there really a home for him where he was thought of? If so, does it count if you don't like said person? Sakura was far off the scale of people he tolerated, let alone considered kazoku... considered home. "Sakura is far from home."

The ocean eyed boy's fists clutched in a manner that confused him. "I... I've never stopped thinking about you. You were, you _are_ my first bond. My first priority every day was trying to figure out how to bring you back." The fists pressed into the ground and he hid his face beneath his sun-filled bangs. "Have you not felt it, Sasuke? Didn't you hear my thoughts? Didn't you feel my emotions?" The boy let out a chortled laugh in frustration before he continued, "I sound so pathetic. When did Uzumaki Naruto become so hopeless? I wonder, Sasuke, did you even think once about me, about _anyone_ from Konoha?"

A paused filled the room as he gathered his thoughts. "I did not. To think of you or anyone else would have ruined everything I aimed for. To annihilate the person I hate most." He watched the blonde dip his head once again to hide behind his hair. "I was sent here on a mission to take out a leaf ninja that had been traveling and working alone for quite some time. I believed it was a mission that would have been easily completed." He pressed his fingers against the leaf ninja headband so he could look into the heavenly blue eyes once more.

"For the first time, I am unable to complete a mission." He refused to continue on. He was angry enough for saying so much to the other, but he felt an explanation was necessary. Hopefully the other would understand the meaning behind his words like he understood the meaning behind his actions. However, the blonde still held a disappointed face.

"I-I see." The tan boy stood quickly, planning to make a quick exit. He followed suit, he would not allow Naruto to do what he had done years ago, walk away. His pale hand latched onto the other's wrist, only causing the other to try and free the wrist. "Let go, Sasuke."

He shook his head. "No." He pulled roughly and the wrist and everything quickened. He threw his arms to his sides to brace himself, and the other's weight, as they fell. As everything stilled, he noticed something that he wasn't sure he hated. The other's breath mingled with his and their bodies were pressed together. The heat from the other's arms warmed his ears as they barricaded his head. He bit his tongue and couldn't help but wonder if this was 'being in the heat of the moment', because he wanted nothing more than to press his now too-dry lips against the other's rosy mouth.

There it was again. The idiotic boy had been able to understand such microscopic movements and understood that his heart was, too, pounding out of his chest. He adjusted his legs so the blond could sit comfortably on his pelvic bone whilst he leaned down. As their noses touched he felt his heart swell unnervingly and he wasn't sure he could last another second. Quickly, he captured the plump lips between his own admiring how soft they really were.

It was an unexpected taste as he sucked on the other's bottom lip lightly. There was no taste of ramen; it tasted sweet and yet spicy all the same. He recognized it more characteristically as a smell that overwhelmed his nose when he and the blond sparred. Something so unique that he was sure no one else in the world could smell quite this delicious.

It was his companion who pulled away first with a flushed face while pressing his forehead against wild black bangs. He had only noticed once air filled his lungs that he had been starving himself of oxygen to engulf the other's taste. Panting, he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and brought them into a laying position. The blond's face pressed into his neck pulling out a sigh from his throat. It wasn't until he was close to falling asleep that he muttered to Naruto, "I want to go home, with you, to you."

"Hai, always."

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Kazoku is the Japanese term from 'family'. I felt the term fit better than "nakama" which also means family, but is most commonly used for "comrade" or "friend".  
That unnamed feeling Sasuke had toward the beginning was _love_.


End file.
